young boxer dog

[whipittire]

My boxer tries very hard to eat the chicks, how do i get her to accept these chicks as non-food. I'm a little worried if she gets one she will like it. that will be bad

 

[Kevin565]

Your boxer needs proper training. You should post in the Other Pets and Livestock section. We have a few dog trainers there who can send you on the right path when training your dog.

 

[BuffOrpington88]

It would be the safest if you could keep them separated, but if you can't then look into training.

 

[1muttsfan]

I have some friends whose boxer has killed all their chickens on 2 separate occasions. Some dogs can not get the prey drive out of their blood. A good solid fence is the best protection you can offer. Even if trained, your dog should never be left with the chickens out of their pen.

 

[CAjerseychick]

I have 3 dogs-- a 9month old Bernese Mt dog pup who listened carefully to "no chicken eating" and has never looked a them again (I let him into the freerange area to discourage the Hawk w/o problem) , a giant schnauzer who went thru Boot camp 3 one on one obedience classes with me and a year of shock collar -- to no avail-- she guards, walks the fence line and kills little things/ her prey drive is engrained the best we could do is have her respect the chicken fence, which she does, lastly we have a 13 year old boxer who despite having her Canine Good Companionship Certificate/ and being mostly blind, lame and riddled with tumors, still makes a leap for the chickens whenever she can/ although she is too weak to test the chicken fence-- so all I can say is, if you have a dog with drive, best to rig a chicken fence (ag wire or poultry netting) train the dog to respect the fence, and take it from there-- from personal experience not all breeds will respond 100% surety to "training" it really depends on the dogs drive/ genetics... I get really frustrated when people with gentle willing breeds keep saying it is quite trainable to "train " a dog out of their drive, which, depending on the dogs' drive may or may not be an achievable task... Good Luck, chickens notwithstanding we love our Boxer dogs (have had them for 15 years now)...

 

[whipittire]

well i can at least have her watch me hold the chicks without her attacking them. we love our boxers and can see my life without them, so i guess i will just work with them till she gets it. ohhh boy, fun fun

 

[Nicole01]

I'd be muzzling her around the chicks.

Some dogs will never grow out of that prey instinct. We have 2 big dogs, both trained to hunt pheasants(my Golden had more training, my Aussie is a better hunter), both dogs leave the chickens alone. Not once have they ever gone after my girls, but I'd never trust them alone. I use the dogs to watch over my flock, they both protect our house and yard.

Teaching the "leave it" command comes in extremely handy. There was this video I used on YouTube with a lady showing this command with her little white puppy/dog(Maltese). Very useful and worked like a charm! Good luck.

It's my Golden's turn.

Watching chicks

 

[dainerra]

It would be the safest if you could keep them separated, but if you can't then look into training.

never rely only on containment/separation. Absolutely keep them apart - it's the best and easiest way to work on training.

I post this so often that I saved it to my hard drive. Easier to cut and paste than type it all out!

training. training. more training. Just like cleaning the coop and scooping poop and all the other jobs that come with having a pet. The only thing more necessary to a dog than training is food!

You already know that he is excited with the chicks. Find the closest distance that the dog first notices the birds in the brooder. This might be in another room if he is one to constantly glance at the door. Put your dog on leash and get some extra special treats that he only gets for this work - bacon, grilled chicken (no spices!), hot dog chunks, etc. When the dog glances toward the birds, say his name and "leave it" If he looks at you, give him a treat - if he doesn't, give a light pop on the leash (think tap on the shoulder). When he looks at you reward him.
You can also teach him "watch me" the same way. You can practice this at random times though out the day. If you have a couple extra minutes while you're watching TV or whatever, just say his name, pause, "watch me" When he makes eye contact, then reward him. You can also (if you get in the habit of keeping a small treat in your pockets) catch him looking towards you say "watch me" and then reward. Or just praise him verbally.

Once the dog is reliably paying attention to you and the birds at a distance, move a little bit closer. If he absolutely blows you off, you're too close. Just back up a bit and begin again. Eventually you will be right amongst the birds. You can then start at a distance or with a long line (20' leash or so) and work from there. I never ever leave my dogs/chickens loose unattended together.
I don't even trust Rayden
I don't mean I constantly hover over the dogs when they are out with the birds, but I am in the area and aware of what they are doing. Think of it as a small child. Even though you've taught them not to play with matches, would you leave them alone in the house with matches scattered all over the floor?

The most important part of the training is to set the dog up to succeed. Don't give him a chance to chase the birds. Don't give him a chance to disobey.

ETA: The best thing about teaching "leave it" is that it works for everything. Drop something on the floor and don't want the dogs to touch it? "leave it" See dog running toward a snake? "leave it" Lots of training and work, but it pays off!
Of course, some dogs just can't be trusted off-leash. Period. They are just too focused on the birds. In that case, just confine the dog when the birds are out.